Whatever the surveys may tell us, and we have carried out a few ourselves, there is definitely a feeling of change within the car industry. It has always been very easy to find people who are dissatisfied with the service they have received, or who feel like they have been ripped off but it’s always much harder to find buyers who have had a totally satisfying experience and would always go back for more. With half a million people buying cars every month and many more having their cars serviced or repaired the actual problem may not be as large as it may at first appear.

We are sure within other businesses there are just as many ‘unhappy’ customers but the sheer cost of buying and maintaining a car means that added to the poor reputation the car industry has made for itself it may be many years before consumers actually have a few good words for the trade.

I do believe we are being conditioned as a nation to go on “full attack mode” if we don’t receive instant
gratification. Clearly the motoring business is an easy target because we constantly tell our customers that they are our number one priority, and as a consequence will find ourselves in the frontline.

Whilst we should all expect good service and a fair deal, it is important that we understand what that actually is. For example there are the adverts on TV which asks whether you’re ‘paying the right price for your next car’ and urging you to “text your car registration number” so the company can “stop you being ripped off”. Really? Well exactly what is the right price?

If we all knew that the world would reside in a lovely place full of wonderful people all paying the right price, but seeing as most people in the trade can’t agree what the correct value of a car should be (The trade guides appear to agree on very few cars valuations and some are literally £000s apart) how should a customer know whether they are getting a good deal?

Getting a great deal and getting great service can be two completely different things, and if you think about it once you have decided what you want to buy there are lots of ways of finding out how to find the cheapest car.

You can either search on line or call all the dealers who stock the model you are interested in and compare, but being as that best deal may be at the other end of the country it may not be the easiest.

As I have recently discovered to my cost and time. Finally, after going online and visiting no fewer than 10 stores, I got a new TV for about £20 cheaper than the one I saw in the first place I visited 3 weeks previously, and now I confess I’m still checking out all the adverts to make sure nobody is selling it cheaper!

That is the whole point really, if you are happy with what you have bought and the money you paid, then you have got the best deal. So why beat yourself up about someone getting it cheaper than you? Just enjoy it and understand that whatever product is being sold there will always be times where retailers will be keen to drop prices to drum up business, how you think DFS have a permanent sale going?

The Motor Trade Insider Guide To Buying New Cars

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